Fence



(No Model.)

` I.. L. LANDIS.

FENCE.

No. 360,703. .Pententedlprl 5, 1887.

c* JIJ? WI .TJV ESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISRAEL L. LANDIS, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming par-t of Letters Patent No.360,703, dated April 5, 1887.

Application filed December 13, 1886. Serial No. 221,442.

.To all whom t may concern: l A

. Be it known that I, IsEAEL L. LaNnIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster' and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements in farm-fences, and it has reference particularly to that class of fencesin which the horizontal parallel rails are secured to the vertical posts by means of wire fastenings or loops.

The invention has for its objects to provide an extremely simple and efficient device for securely fastening the adjacent or overlapping ends of the rails to the posts; and it corr sists, essentially, in combination with a wire loop encircling the post and the overlapping ends of the rails, and having a small eye formed in it on the face of the rails, of a headed nail or spike passing through the said eye or small loop formed in the mainloop and through the endsof the rails and into the post, thereby firmly and rigidly securing the rails to the post, as will be fully hereinafter specified and claimed.

The invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a fence-post with the horizontal rails secured thereto with my device; Fig. 2, a side view of the post with the rails in section; Figs. 3 and l 4, detail sectional views, which will be more fully hereinafter explained; and Figs. 5 and G, detail views of my device applied to two different styles of lapped rails.

Referring to these drawings by letter, A designates a fence-post, to which are secured, by my improved device, the rails B of the fence. Passing through the overlapping ends of the rails, and thereby securingr them to the face of the post, is a headed nail or spike, C. This nail, when first driven into the rails, is not driven in its full length, but is allowed to project a short distance, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, for the purpose present-ly set forth.

Encircling the projecting portion of the nail and the post and rails is a wire loop or fastening, D, the meeting ends of which are twisted or otherwise secured together. In forming this loop,the wire is first wrapped one (No model.)

or more times around the projecting portion of the nail, between its head and the face of the rails, thereby forming a small loop, E, after which one of its free ends is passed over the upper edges of the lapped rails and around to the side or rear ofthe post, while its other end is passed down under the lower edges of the rails on the opposite side of the post, and then around to the side or rear of the post, to meet the other end of the wire, the two ends of the wire being then twisted together, as shown. Instead of twisting the two ends of the wire together at the rear or side of the post, they may for convenience be secured or twisted together on the front of the fence, if desired. After the wire has been secured around the post and rails and the spikein the above manner, the spike is then driven home, thereby forcing the wire slightly into the face of the railsand drawing it perfectly taut, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. In Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings two different styles of lapped rails are shown to which my fastening may be appliedl with advantage.

By my improved fastening the usual notches in the posts for the support of the rails are obviated. and holding the wire in position on the post are also done away with by this invention.

I am aware that it is not new to secure the horizontal rails of fences to the posts thereof by means of wire loops passing around the posts and the ends of the rails, and hence I do not claim such, broadly, as my invention.

It will be seen that through the medium of the wire D the rails are held closely against the face of the post, thereby preventing them from exerting any strain upon the nails and withdrawing them from the post.

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination, in a fence, of the fenceposts, the overlapping horizontal parallel rails, the wire loops embracing said rails above and below, the said loops being provided with suitable eyes, and the bolts or spikes driven through the eyes and rails and into the posts, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. p

ISRAEL L. LANDIS.

. YVitnesses:

Giras. D. Davis, JN0. S. FINoH, J r.

All kerfs and staples for securing 

